So baking sales -- are they still a hotbed of mommy politics? Do people still care whether you bring homemade or store-bought? Because I feel like this pretend conflict keeps popping up in movies and TV, but in real life, no one gives a shit. Take comedian Bill Maher, who goes out of his way to be annoying anyway, so whatever. But his "New Rule for Moms" is to stop baking cookies from scratch for those school bake sales.

Okay, first of all, who asked you, Bill? Secondly, why is this rule only for MOMS and not all parents? No, you know what? It's much simpler than that. I would like to invite Bill Maher to take a box of Costco cookies and shove it up his butt, because as far as I'm concerned, that is just something he can do. Quit stoking the mommy wars -- especially in such a lame, low-stakes way.

I never make New Year's Resolutions. It always seemed pretty ridiculous to me. Setting goals is one thing, but doing it only because it's the first day of the year? That just seemed lame.

For years, the only resolution I would make is that I don't make New Year's Resolutions.

But this year, I got to thinking. (Finally, I know!) I'm a dad. And there is always room for improvement in everyone's life. Are there things I'd like to do better as a father to my two boys? Absolutely!

So I decided to make a list of New Year's Resolutions for Dads everywhere. And yeah, if I'm lucky, I'll get through half this list before breaking any of these.

Looking for service opportunities for the whole family? Volunteering is a profound way to teach your children about gratitude, empathy, and selfless giving -- especially around the holidays. Helping out at a soup kitchen is one of the first ideas people get, and that's definitely a worthy cause. But there are many other ways for you and your family to give back. 

Here are a few suggestions. Keep in mind for all of these: Don't just show up! Always call ahead and find out what the organization actually needs, whether they'll allow kids to help, and what other groups you can work with to organize a volunteer day.

If your kids are like every single other child around the world, then they probably jump up and down and get pretty excited simply from hearing the word "holidays," you know, because they associate the holiday season with getting plenty of presents and all sorts of fun goodies. (C'mon, don't like. Your kid LOVES gifts just as much as my kid and every other kid does.)

And while it's definitely fun to see our children's faces light up when they tear into all of the lovely items that took us hours to wrap -- it's still important to teach them that giving back can be just as much fun as receiving.

Here are 5 ways to get your kids excited about giving to others -- once they realize how rewarding it is to spread some kindness to someone else, they'll be hooked on giving for sure.

Until a couple weeks ago, 6-and-a-half-year-old Gianna Delli Santi had the sort of hair every girl envies: long and luxurious, falling down her back in shiny ripples. Gianna adored her Rapunzel-esque auburn waves so much, she'd never had a haircut in her life.

She can definitely say she's had a trim now, though. Gianna recently appeared on the Wendy Williams Show to have eight inches of her hair chopped off in one can't-take-it-back moment while cameras were rolling -- and wait until you hear why this big-hearted first grader chose to get such a drastic new 'do. On live television, no less.

I remember when Yusuf Hawkins was murdered in Brooklyn. I wasn’t very old, but I can vividly recall being sad, then angry that a group of people felt collectively entitled to take the life of another person based on something as frivolous as their race. No provocation, no just cause, and certainly no remorse. My mother had purchased the Eyes on the Prize collection, so I had seen more than my share of grainy footage from the Civil Rights era when men and women marched despite being pelted and spit on by antagonists furious at having their way of life and their white privilege threatened by a group of uppity niggers.

You probably know at least one family affected by autism. Recent figures say one in every 88 kids have an autism spectrum disorder.

In Angie's family, the figure is two out of three...her son has Asperger's and one of her twin daughters has mild autism. But instead of asking "why me?" she's giving back to families like hers.

Angie volunteers for Autism Speaks, a nationwide organization that raises funds for research into the causes of autism and its treatment. Angie's hope is that someday there will be a cure for autism, and she's doing what she can to help that happen.

Brooke Harris is out of a job as a Michigan teacher. But she’s not exactly sure why. All she knows is that her dismissal stems from encouraging her middle school students to raise money for the family of slain teenager Trayvon Martin. Lots of organizations are rallying not only for the arrest and prosecution of George Zimmerman, but to fundraise and defray the legal expenses Martin’s parents have accumulated just trying to bring their son’s alleged murderer to justice. This is where good teaching came back to bite her in the hindparts: Harris initially gave her journalism students at Pontiac Academy for Excellence an editorial-writing assignment on the shooting. But the kids felt led to do more, and Harris says she asked the school's administrators if the eighth graders could pay $1 for a dress-down day, a popular fundraising tactic at schools that require uniforms.